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Eight years since I was first mesmerised by Adele’s epic ballads, the night I was waiting for for so long, finally arrived. Last night I was one of the lucky ones who got to witness this superstar bring down the house at her final show at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. This morning I’m basking in the afterglow of one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Not even a traffic jam that meant I was at risk of missing my flight back to wellington can bring this gal down today.

I wish I could relive that concert over and over. Adele has the best voice I’ve ever heard. In two hours of music, all of which soars across low and high pitch and has key change upon key change, Adele did not miss one note. Each song was sung to perfection. I spent half the show with my mouth gaping open in amazement, tears rolled down my face in awe at least five times and I laughed wholeheartedly on numerous occasions.

A huge part of Adele’s appeal as a musician is that she’s real and relatable. As this was the last stadium show of her overseas tour we were treated as an audience to a raw version of her. She spoke with tears about what an accomplishment finishing this tour is for her, she never thought she’d make it through 50 shows let alone 219. She confirmed the rumours we’d all hoped weren’t true – “I don’t know if I’ll ever tour again” – and we all felt incredibly grateful in that moment that we got to witness her magnificence.

Despite it absolutely pissing down the entire show, this artist – with no trace of diva – continued to strut the stage in her waterlogged dress. She had make-up dripping down her face as she batted away wet and sticky bits of confetti but no complaints were made! Instead she just laughed about getting eyelash glue in her eyes and falling on her ass – a little bit of water wasn’t going to stop her giving us a show to remember. At one point she even donned a poncho handed to her by a helpful fan and the crowd erupted into giggles as she looked like a pink marshmallow while singing a heartfelt ballad.

All of the big hits were played, reminding us why they’re the favourites. Chasing Pavements, When We Were Young, Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You certainly stood out. Hello was so powerful as an opener that I was completely overcome with emotion. It took me about a minute to shake off the tears. I realised then just what kind of concert I was in for and the anticipation was intense.

There were endless lovely moments but I was particularly taken by her performances of Don’t You Remember, Take It All and Make You Feel My Love – which she dedicated to her husband and son before struggling not to cry while delivering the most stunning rendition.

As we trudged home in the heavy rain, our faces plastered with grins, we knew this was a concert above the rest. “This will be the artist we rave to our kids about one day” we quipped. Thanks Adele, you’re going to be hard to beat.